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FirmsConsulting.com & StrategyTraining.com
CEOs and business leaders, management consulting senior partners, ground-breaking professors, thought-provoking writers and journalists, record-setting athletes and coaches, and award-winning actors and celebrities discuss the key issues facing the business world and broader society.
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Get free access to our newsletter, Monday Morning at 8 am, along with sample episodes from our training programs on www.strategytraining.com. Go to https://www.firmsconsulting.com/promo.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 2, 2025 • 53min
539: The 80/20 CEO on Guiding Your Business from Panic to Profit
Bill Canady, CEO of OTC Industrial Technologies and Arrowhead Engineered Products, shares insights from his extensive leadership experience and military background. He introduces his Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS), detailing five key components to drive organizational success. Bill emphasizes the importance of strategic pricing, effective team dynamics, and the necessity of mentorship. He shares personal anecdotes highlighting the balance between professional and personal life, underscoring how partnerships can fuel growth and resilience in leadership.

25 snips
Apr 1, 2025 • 49min
538: Industrial/Organizational Psychologist on Leading for Wellness
In a compelling discussion, Patricia Grabarek, Industrial/Organizational Psychologist and co-founder of Workr Beeing, delves into the importance of workplace wellness. She highlights a holistic approach that encompasses physical, mental, and emotional health for employees. Patricia shares tactics for leaders to promote wellness while achieving organizational goals and navigates the challenges of remote work. Additionally, she discusses the delicate balance of vulnerability in leadership and offers strategies for effectively saying no to maintain productivity and wellbeing.

Mar 26, 2025 • 51min
537: Ex-Google Exec on Breaking the Unwritten Rules
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 537, an interview with the author of Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It, Jenny Wood. In this episode, Jenny discusses her career journey and the key skills that helped her rise from an entry-level role to an executive over 18 years. She also discusses overcoming imposter syndrome, being strategic with time, and saying no to non-promotable work. Jenny shares the importance of obsessing over key projects, leading with enthusiasm, and breaking unwritten rules to stand out. Her book, Wild Courage, outlines nine traits for success, including being weird, shameless, and reckless. Today’s guest is Jenny Wood. In her 18 years at Google, she grew from entry-level to executive, and she most recently led a large operations team that helped drive billions of dollars of revenue per year. Jenny’s writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Inc. She is a licensed private pilot, a daily hiker, an improv student, a tap dancer, and a zucchini bread connoisseur. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her two young children and her husband, Jon. Get Jenny’s book here: https://rb.gy/6sj1rj Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Mar 24, 2025 • 29min
536: NYU Grossman School of Medicine's Joel Salinas on the Science and Art of Coming Together in a Conflicted World
Joel Salinas, a behavioral neurologist and clinician scientist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, delves into conflict resilience and the brain's reactions to disagreement. He reveals how loneliness impacts health and how conflicts activate pain-related brain regions. Salinas shares strategies to break negative thought patterns and improve emotional well-being. He emphasizes viewing conflict as an opportunity for growth and connection, highlighting the significance of understanding our responses to disagreements.

Mar 19, 2025 • 1h 6min
535: Former Time Editor on Being Richer, Wiser, and Happier
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 535, an interview with the author of Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World's Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life, William Green. In this episode, William Green talks about his journey from Oxford to becoming a renowned journalist. He shares stories of his unconventional career path, including impulsive moves to New York and Hong Kong, financial struggles, and being laid off during the financial crisis. William discusses how he learned to handle failure with grace and experienced a spiritual awakening at 40 that changed his outlook. He offers practical advice for writers and thinkers on focusing on quality over quantity and finding work that aligns with their unique talents and personality. William Green has written for many publications in the US and Europe, including Time, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, The New Yorker, The Spectator, and The Economist. He edited the Asian edition of Time while living in Hong Kong, then moved to London to edit the European, Middle Eastern, and African editions of Time. Born and raised in London, William studied English literature at Oxford University and received a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University. He lives in New York with his wife and their two children. Get William’s book here: https://rb.gy/v1a282 Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World's Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Mar 17, 2025 • 51min
534: The Science of Personal Power: How to Command Influence, Overcome Doubt, and Lead with Confidence
Chris Lipp, a social psychologist and author at Tulane's Freeman School of Business, dives into the concept of personal power and its role in effective leadership. He emphasizes that powerful individuals operate with a mindset of accountability and purpose. Strategies for regaining power under stress and the impact of effective communication are discussed. Lipp also highlights journaling as a tool for emotional awareness and personal growth, urging listeners to embrace fears as catalysts for confidence and stronger connections in their personal and professional lives.

Mar 12, 2025 • 50min
533: 3x Emmy Award-Winning ESPN Broadcaster on Being Audacious
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 533, an interview with the author of Cultivating Audacity: Dismantle Doubt and Let Yourself Win, Anne Marie Anderson. In this episode, Anne Marie Anderson shared her journey from being rejected by ESPN at 21 to working there for 35 years and becoming one of the most experienced female play-by-play announcers in the country. She discussed the importance of audacity, combining confidence with bold risks, and learning from rejection. In Cultivating Audacity, Anne Marie shares the system she developed to find the courage to confront hesitation and break down barriers that stood between her and the life she wanted. Anne Marie Anderson is a 3x Emmy Award winning broadcaster, keynote speaker and author of Cultivating Audacity. Get Anne’s book here: https://rb.gy/yl2f8q Cultivating Audacity: Dismantle Doubt and Let Yourself Win Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Mar 10, 2025 • 49min
532: Positive Psychology Expert on Setting Big Goals and Creating Your Best Life
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 532, an interview with the author of Big Goals: The Science of Setting Them, Achieving Them, and Creating Your Best Life, Caroline Adams Miller. In this episode, Caroline takes us through her journey of overcoming personal challenges to becoming an expert in positive psychology and goal setting. She breaks down why setting clear, challenging goals is so important and explains the difference between learning goals (developing new skills) and performance goals (improving existing ones). Caroline also talks about the role of accountability, having the right kind of support, and how self-belief and hope can make a big difference in our life. Caroline also discusses the unique challenges women face when setting goals and how feedback from role models and strong relationships can help us stay on track and succeed. For over three decades, Caroline Adams Miller has been a pioneer with her groundbreaking work in the areas of the science of goal setting, grit, happiness, and success. She is recognized as one of the world's leading positive psychology experts on this research and how it can be applied to one's life and work for maximum transformation. She is the author of nine books, including My Name is Caroline, Getting Grit, Positively Caroline and Creating Your Best Life, which the "father of Positive Psychology," Dr. Martin Seligman, lauded in Flourish as "adding a major missing piece" to the world of goal setting. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University and attained one of the first 32 degrees in the world in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Get Caroline’s book here: https://rb.gy/x9iwik Big Goals: The Science of Setting Them, Achieving Them, and Creating Your Best Life Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Mar 5, 2025 • 53min
531: Harvard Law Professor on Negotiation: Making ‘Messy Conversations’ Work for You
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 531, an interview with the author of Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In, Bob Bordone. Most of us instinctively avoid conflict, seeing it as a threat rather than an opportunity for growth. What if the conversations you dread most could actually strengthen your relationships and lead to better outcomes? In this episode, Harvard Law's Bob Bordone talks about negotiation and conflict resolution. He discusses seeing conflict as an opportunity instead of a threat, and shares practical tips for handling difficult conversations. The episode covers when to address or avoid conflicts, dealing with family disputes, and the importance of being a good listener. Bob also offers advice on understanding others' perspectives and dealing with uncooperative and difficult people. Bob Bordone is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School and the Founder and Principal of The Cambridge Negotiation Institute, a boutique consulting firm providing coaching, consulting, and training in negotiation conflict resilience, mediation, and conflict resolution. He spent 21 years teaching full-time at Harvard Law School where he founded the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program. He is co-author/co-editor of three books, including his latest, Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In. Get Bob’s book here: https://rb.gy/d1tqrx Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Mar 3, 2025 • 46min
530: Bill Gates & Steve Ballmer’s Direct Advisor: Leadership, Self-Management, and Life Lessons
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 530, an interview with a seasoned executive coach and the author of You're the Boss: Become the Manager You Want to Be (and Others Need), Sabina Nawaz. In this episode, Sabina shares her journey from software development at Microsoft to advising C-level executives. She explains the dangers of pressure overpowering leaders and advocates for self-care and emotional intelligence. Throughout her journey as a leader, she realized the need for effective communication, urging leaders to seek feedback and practice active listening. Sabina introduces tools like the "joyline" to identify what brings joy and fulfillment and emphasizes the importance of celebrating self-acceptance and prioritizing continuous development through micro-habits like journaling and meditation. Her new book, You’re the Boss, offers practical strategies for maintaining success and leadership effectiveness. Sabina Nawaz who advises C-level executives and teams at Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, and academic institutions around the world. During her fourteen-year tenure at Microsoft, she went from managing software development teams to leading the company’s executive development and succession planning efforts for over 11,000 managers and nearly a thousand executives, advising Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer directly. Get Sabina’s book here: https://rb.gy/tw6yuq You're the Boss: Become the Manager You Want to Be (and Others Need) Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo